


Things Never Stay the Way They Were

by Rekall



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Fights, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Canon, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-28 21:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5105810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rekall/pseuds/Rekall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been a year since Gamora was taken in by Thanos. As she trains to be his assassin, she finds herself drawn towards the new girl who recently arrived.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Never Stay the Way They Were

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ambiguously](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/gifts).



The new girl was crying again. 

Gamora could hear her in the next room. She wasn't sure why the girl was doing it. Crying only led to beatings, torture and other forms of punishment. It was one of those things you learned early when taken in by Thanos. It wasn't just his guards, their trainers and Thanos himself you had to watch out for, you had to be tough to survive against the others; other children taken in by Thanos after he murdered their families. The weak didn't last long. While they couldn't outright kill each other, 'accidental' deaths were often ignored.

Still though, a small part of Gamora wished she could join the girl in her tears. It had been a year since she had been taken. A whole year since she witnessed the deaths of her family and friends. She missed them terribly but she had cried only once though, silent tears as she was taken away. Since then she learned that wearing a mask of hardness was the only way to survive.

* * *

It wasn't until the next morning when Gamora saw the new girl for the first time. Nebula; that was her name. She wasn't crying anymore, though Gamora wouldn't have blamed her. She was cornered by three older kids. It was their thing. Corner the new kids and frighten them into a state where they wouldn't be able to function. It was a good way of getting rid of someone.

They had tried it with Gamora when she had been new but they didn't know that with the death of her family she vowed to never be a victim again. Still new to training she had done the only thing she could, she had kicked their leader in the balls. After a few more failed attempts at intimidation they had left her alone. 

Gamora knew she should have kept walking. She owed nothing to Nebula. All the girl did was keep her awake at night with her crying. But then she saw the look of determination on Nebula's face. Gamora could tell that Nebula wasn't going to back down to the bullies. She was going to fight, even if she was going to get her ass kicked. 

Gamora liked that. 

"Hey!" Gamora called to them. She smiled slightly as the bodies of the bullies tensed when they saw her. It was good. It meant her reputation was growing. "Don't you think should make things a little more even?"

"We have no desire to start anything with you, Gamora," their leader replied, he was a big, tall guy who liked using his size to his advantage. As he turned towards Gamora however Nebula jumped into his back and attempted to get a choke hold on him. 

Gamora wasn't sure whether to curse Nebula or thank her. Gamora was fairly confident she could have taken care of things without conflict but at the same time she loved a good fight. 

Rushing forward, Gamora kicked at the girl closest to her, catching her in the chest. Gamora then dropped to the ground to swipe at the other's legs. As he fell to the ground, Gamora raised up and punched him between his eyes, knocking him unconscious. Gamora then turned her attention back to her first opponent. 

The girl lunged at her but Gamora dodged and kneed her in the chest. As the girl doubled over, Gamora grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. "Give up," she spat, while tightening her grip on the other girl's arm. 

In response, the girl nodded her head and Gamora let her go, giving her a little shove in the process. Gamora then turned her attention to where Nebula was getting slammed against the wall. "Stop it!"

The body tensed and then with reluctance, Nebula was released and she slid to the floor, her back resting against the wall as she rubbed the back of her head. 

"This isn't over Gamora," he said as he turned to face her, and jabbing a finger in her direction. 

In response, Gamora snapped her teeth inches away from the finger, causing him to quickly jerk away. Gamora had no real desire to bite him but he didn't need to know that. Despite his threats, Gamora wasn't concerned. Not for herself at least, everyone knew he would be stupid if he went after her. Nebula however was a different story.

Together the two of them hauled their unconscious friend away. It was then that Gamora finally turned her attention to Nebula. She dropped to her knees and made a move to reach out and touch her only to get her hand slapped away.

"I didn't need your help," Nebula grumbled, staring at Gamora with angry eyes. "I had them right where I wanted them."

"Was that before or after you became part of the wall?"

Nebula glared at Gamora as they both got back to their feet. "I don't need help," she repeated and with that Nebula stormed away.

Gamora's own anger began to rise as she watched Nebula disappear down the hallway. She didn't understand Nebula's problem. She had helped Nebula when she didn't have too. Usually that at least got a "thanks".

That was the last time Gamora was going to help anyone.

* * *

The crying continued that night. 

Once again it kept Gamora awake. She flopped onto her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head, hoping it would help muffle the sounds, but not getting the results she wanted. 

She didn't care about the girl in the next room; Nebula was nothing to her.

Didn't care at all.

* * *

It was three days before Gamora saw Nebula again. Sure there were times she saw the other girl across the training room or when everyone ate together but Gamora kept her distance. 

Each night though, she would listen to Nebula's cries. 

She hated to admit that it was bothersome. And not just because it disrupted her sleep. 

Frustrated Gamora decided to beat out her feelings with some extra training. That evening, after everyone else had gone to eat, Gamora had stayed behind to workout longer. If she was going to be the best - which was the only sure way to survive - she needed to to train when everyone else was being lazy. 

What surprised her though was he wasn't the only one who decided to stay late that day. Across the room, Nebula was attacking a training dummy with a sword. Her movement was rough but she wasn't entirely bad for someone who had been with them for less than a week. 

"I thought I was the only one who ever stayed late," Gamora said as she approached Nebula. Their argument from the other day lingered on her mind but she pushed that away. 

"Leave me alone," Nebula replied barely looking in Gamora's direction. 

Gamora however wasn't about to let that happen. "Why do you cry every night?"

Gamora wasn't even sure why she cared. 

A look of horror crossed Nebula's face as she paused her actions. It was only for a second however. Soon she was wearing a mask again and scowled. "Why do you think? I don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"None of us have a home anymore."

"I know that!" Nebula said as she resumed hitting the dummy. "That is why I am going to be the best. It's better than rolling over and dying."

Gamora understood all too well. Walking over to the wall, Gamora pressed a hidden button and a panel slid away revealing a row of weapons. She selected a sword, one light with good balance and walked back over to Nebula. "Fight me."

For a brief moment Nebula stared at her. Gamora almost expected be ignored as Nebula returned to her training but after a thoughtful moment she stopped and turned to face Gamora. "Don't go easy on me."

Gamora had no intentions of doing that. 

It would be an insult.

The swords clanged together. Sometimes Nebula would gain an advantage but more often it was Gamora controlling how the fight went. 

Time went by quickly without either of them paying attention. Neither were interested in winning too soon. The fight was more about getting to know and understanding each other.

Sweat formed on Gamora's skin, she knew she wasn't the only one feeling it though. She could tell that Nebula's movements were becoming slower, more sluggish. The other girl didn't have the skills yet to keep up, she might never will, but there was no doubt in Gamora's mind that one day Nebula would be good.

Finally Gamora had enough. In a swift move Nebula's sword went flying across the room, ending the fight.

Breathing heavily, Nebula stood staring at Gamora, not showing any emotion but then a slow smile formed on her face. "You're not that bad."

That was not what Gamora expected. After a short pause, she broke into laughter as she lowered her own sword. "And you still need training."

Nebula grinned. "Yeah, well, you'll see. One day I'm going to be the best. Even better than you."

Gamora smiled. "I'd like to see you try."

"Just wait," Nebula argued but there was no real anger in her voice. "Until then I'll watch your back. I'm going to make sure no one defeats you until I'm able too."

"And I'll have your back." In their situation it wasn't a bad idea to have someone watching out for you. Until then Gamora had never felt the need for someone but she could feel a real connection with Nebula. 

Gamora wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe she could see the same drive and fight in Nebula that she herself possessed. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, Gamora knew that Nebula was going to be in her life for a long time. A friendship was building between them and it was one that Gamora hoped was never broken.


End file.
